Newspaper articles in the People’s Daily are often not read for content so much as placement. A large number of articles devoted to a political figure or idea is often taken as a sign that the mentioned official is rising.

The Cyprus President has been busy in recent months trying to limit the fallout from the financial bailout agreed March. However, it is particularly interesting that this story of his visit to China is reported back in the semi-official People’s Daily.

If you happen to visit Cyprus, this Summer, you will see that the vast majority of estate agents’ board these days are in Chinese, rather than Greek, English or Russian. For wealthy Chinese owning property a house in Cyprus is still attractive. I have heard two reasons mentioned for this attractiveness. Firstly, with a home in Cyprus, it’s easy to travel freely in Europe. Secondly, there are not the restrictions on Chinese families having children whilst in Cyprus.

There is also a strategic imperative in that the Chinese wish to break out of the “cordon sanitaire” imposed by Washington and project power everywhere.

Sri Lanka which was helped in their civil war by China with military hardware and military advisors to defeat the Tamil Tigers now has a Chinese naval base, Nicaragua is getting an entirely new canal to rival the Panama Canal built and financed entirely by the Chinese and the quid pro quo will be a Chinese naval base.

Cyprus will enjoy Chinese largesse as did the Greeks as a precursor for a naval base and a toehold in the Mediterranean for their growing “blue water” navy as part of their strategy for defending trade routes and securing their mineral/economic interests in Africa.

Even longer term by bailing out and helping troubled European economies they hope to create allies and divide the West which is their way of following Sun Tzu’s doctrine which advised the Emperor of the day in China to “Break up their alliances and accords” and “take them by confusion”.

As China does this they will buy up assets at distressed prices and carefully and secretly acquire the businesses and infrastructure that the country depends upon to function.

Thus the Chinese own Wessex Water,Manganese Bronze ,the firm which makes London Black Cabs and the infrastructure company which controls the London Underground.

They also obtain trade secrets from practically everyone on the planet to gain economic advantage using a 4 million plus army of PLA cyber warriors whose task it is to break into Western computer systems sometimes succeeding for years until our Western intelligence services and firms like Mandiant manage at great cost to stop them and throw them off the network following any breach.

The Government of Cyprus must of course deal with the Chinese and seek rapprochement with them, but it must do so carefully following two principles “Create no hostages to fortune for the long term” and the Russian proverb “Trust but verify”.